A few years ago Russ Anderson, owner of the Caviste Wine Shop in Winston-Salem, North Carolina told me he had set asside three different bottles of Nebbiolo that were from the same producer, but different areas and the three of them would make an interesting blind tasting. See the results of this 2015 tasting: Vallana Campi Raudii 2012, Vallana Spanna 2012 and Vallana Gattinara 2006. Than, a couple of weeks ago I ran across the Vallana Gattinara in the Woodland Hills Wine Company and just couldn’t resist getting a bottle. Was it good…well, because it struck such special note the first time we had it, our anticipation seemed to make it even better!!! Here’s what we thought…

Opened and decanted one hour before drinking. Slightly opaque, dark ruby color with a light purple rim. Rich cherry, plum, a mushroom house on a cold winter morning and lots of damp leather and wood aromas. On the palate it was smooth, had a fresh almost full body and fine 200 grit texture. Just as anticipated there were layers of complexity in the ripe cherry, current and plum fruit flavors along with prominent tastes of roasted nuts, clove and sweet cinnamon spices that were all carried through the long mineral finish and ended on a licorice note. Fantastic pairing with the pizza, but MAGNIFICENT sipping without food. Wonderful fresh acidity and lots of round edged, but grippy tannins that grew from mid-palate to the end and gave each sip an expanding experience. Nebbiolo of this quality is usually not inexpensive, but we would describe this as OUTSTANDING, very reasonably priced Nebbiolo that was a MEMORABLE wine…in a nutshell this is what four thumbs up is all about!!!

Marina, Francis (a trained enologist with a Ph.D viticulture), and Miriam, the fifth generation who currently run the Vallana estate